Arsene Wenger compared Arsenal's recent bad form to a 'half knocked-down' boxer after his side arrested their recent poor form with a 2-0 win against AC Milan.

Victory in the San Siro brings welcome relief to the Gunners who suffered consecutive defeats by Manchester City before an abject loss away at Brighton.

'It has been a nightmare week but it was a good result but it is not qualification, so we have to finish the job at home,' Wenger said after Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Aaron Ramsey goals put Arsenal in control of the Europa League last 16 tie.

Arsene Wenger compared his side's recent form to a half knocked down boxer being punched

Aaron Ramsey scored his side's second goal of the game in a 2-0 win against AC Milan

'Overall, I am happy with our spirit and the response we gave. We defended with resilience and until the end. We did that well.

'(In the second half) our pace dropped but I think it is down to the fact we've played four games in 10 days - four intense games.'

He continued: 'I think that when we play a cup final on Sunday and you lose it, it is hard psychologically to digest that in three or four days and we had games on the bounce straight away.'